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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27191705">None to Grow On</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/clarityhiding/pseuds/clarityhiding'>clarityhiding</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Living Our Best Deaths [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Young Justice (Comics)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Birthday Fluff, Dead Tim Drake, Gen, Jason Todd is Robin, JayTim Spooktober 2020, Pre-Slash, Tim Drake is a Ghost</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:14:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,344</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27191705</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/clarityhiding/pseuds/clarityhiding</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's really hard to plan a surprise for someone when they follow you around everywhere. When you're the only one who can see or hear them, it's even harder.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tim Drake &amp; Jason Todd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Living Our Best Deaths [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1531910</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>121</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>JayTimWeek</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>None to Grow On</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>For weekend 4 of JayTim Spooktober: Ghosts (yeah, y'all get <em>two</em> fics this week)! Thanks to njw for the title and chibi_nightowl for the beta. \o/</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It's hard to surprise someone when they follow you around a lot of the time. Jason has to work with stolen moments, times when Tim is engrossed with something like a book or a case, and even then he can't manage much beyond pulling Alfred aside and giving him a quick rundown of what needs doing.</p><p>Alfred listens, a grave expression on his face the whole time. "You can count on me, Master Jason. I shall be sure to get everything in order."</p><p>He feels awful putting it all on one person like this, but it's the best solution Jason can think of. "Thanks, Alf. I really want it to be a surprise, but, well."</p><p>"Of course." Alfred smiles, resting a hand on Jason's shoulder and gently squeezing. "It's very thoughtful of you to go to so much trouble."</p><p>"He's my friend," Jason reminds him. "Why would it be trouble?"</p><p>Alfred makes a noncommittal humming noise that doesn't say anything at all. That should probably be worrisome, but Jason had better get back to Tim before the ghost gets frustrated with trying to turn the pages in the book he was left with and attempts to throw it across the room again.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>There's something suspicious going on around the manor. Well. More suspicious than usual, that is. Tim has only been here for about six, seven months now, but he feels that's more than enough time to get a handle on how its residents operate.</p><p>It took him a while to notice the change, but that was more because he was actively avoiding more frequently used common rooms on account of how Dick seems to be <em>everywhere</em> these days. It's becoming increasingly difficult to stay under the man's radar, no matter how hard he tries.</p><p>At least the others have ceased pressuring Tim into revealing himself, now that they know more of the history there.</p><p>Either way, there's <em>definitely</em> something going on. Jason has been trying to get Tim to leave him alone more and more, which—fine. Fine, maybe Tim's been a bit clingy. Jason has his own life to live, he never asked to play host to a ghost. He has his own friends he no doubt wants to spend more time with, friends he probably isn't keen on looking crazy in front of. Friends that he actually got to choose, instead of being forced into being with by happenstance and necessity.</p><p>Tim tries hard to push down the desperate, aching panic that wells up in him at the thought that Jason might want him to go. He would say, wouldn't he? He would say if he wanted Tim gone, out of the manor, out of his life?</p><p>"Hey, what's with that look? Are you feeling okay?"</p><p>Tim jerks his head up, torn out of an anxiety spiral both by Jason's easy tone and his very presence. It's something he's noticed over the past few months—that he's more grounded, more complete when around the other boy. Which makes sense, considering.</p><p>"Do you want me to leave?" is out of Tim's mouth before he can stop himself. He didn't mean to actually ask. Or, well. Not so directly, at least.</p><p>Jason stares at him, a bewildered look on his face. "What? Where is this coming from?"</p><p>"You keep trying to shake me off, and now you're spending all this time with Dick or your hero friends. It's gotta be inconvenient, having a ghost no one else can see or hear hanging around, and—"</p><p>"Okay, wait, woah. Hold on." Jason settles down next to him on the couch, turning to look straight at him, hands raised like he's calming a wild animal. "<em>No one</em> wants you to leave. Just because I have other friends now—and an idiot brother who has decided to move back in because, boohoo, his girlfriend dumped him—doesn't mean you're not my best friend. Sure, I might want some private time sometimes, but that's just me being human. It doesn't mean I don't want you around anymore."</p><p>"I'm your best friend?" Tim knows he should probably be focusing on other parts of what Jason is saying—he doesn't want him to leave, he just wants more privacy—but that's the thing his brain chooses to latch onto.</p><p>"Duh, of course. You don't see me inviting any of the others to come live here, do you? Heck, I am actively trying to get rid of Dickface and he's <em>still</em> pretending he can't take a hint." Jason smiles, holding out a fist. "Just want some time to myself now and then, that's all."</p><p>"Alright." Ducking his head slightly, Tim raises his own fist and 'bumps' it against Jason's. It doesn't connect, of course, but they've learned to make do with what they have.</p><p>"Sorry I freaked you out. I should have just said."</p><p>"No, I shouldn't have lept to conclusions like that. Thanks, Jason." Tim lifts up off the couch and, for a second, considers leaning in. Stealing a moment and disguising it as an accident as he has so many other times. But no, Jason wants more time to himself, and that—he should respect that. "You're a good friend."</p><p>He feels awkward and a little embarrassed now, quickly hurrying out of the library before Jason can follow, still frozen on the couch, touching his fist with his free hand.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>So apparently Jason isn't as good at being stealthy and sneaky as he thought. Or, rather, he <em>is</em>, since Tim still hasn't figured out what he's up to, but not in the way he wants, since Tim arrived at the very erroneous conclusion that Jason wants him gone.</p><p>Biting his lip, he runs his fingers over his knuckles, marveling at how they're still a little numb and tingly from Tim's brief touch. It's been almost seven months and there's so much they don't understand about how this whole "ghost" thing works. At least, not how it works for Tim, who is quite clearly different from Secret.</p><p>Not that the two of them can exactly talk about it, since Tim firmly refuses to have absolutely anything to do with Secret. Won't even let Jason tell her about him, for some strange reason.</p><p>But that's a concern for some other time, not now when he can finally get to work on the Project without feeling guilty about sneaking around behind Tim's back. Though with the deadline fast approaching, there isn't much left to do aside from some final finishing touches. And, of course, a little subterfuge.</p><p>Pulling out his phone, Jason scrolls through his contacts until he finds the one he wants. He has to take a moment to calm his fast-beating heart—it's stupid, he shouldn't still be nervous after all this time—then quickly taps the phone icon next to the name before he can change his mind.</p><p>"Hi, Donna? It's Jason. I just wanted to make sure you were still in. I know it's a weird request, but it would mean a lot if you could do this for me…"</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>There's not much of anything interesting for Tim to do without Jason. He's been trying to find more things to occupy his time, but every time he broaches the subject, his friend just pulls more books off the shelf and starts going on about how great they are. Which, okay. Tim can read books—he flips the pages with a lot of effort, so it works. But he was never much for reading when he was alive, and he'd rather be out doing something. Except it's difficult to do much of anything when the only person who can see or hear you is busy with his own stuff, and you have a hard time interacting with anything.</p><p>Tim floats up to the roof of the manor and settles in under one of the eaves. He'd follow the young heroes he's forged connections to and go over to Providence and hang out at the mountain Young Justice is using for headquarters, except that Secret might be there. When she'd first shown up, he'd thought it might be fun having her around… and then he felt the chill coming off of her. The gnawing, grasping void inside of her, constantly searching, <em>reaching</em>, trying to grab him and pull him in.</p><p>He shudders and curls up even tighter in his hiding spot. If Secret is anything like what ghosts are supposed to be like, it's no wonder Batman and Constantine were so adamant that Tim doesn't behave properly. Not that he would <em>want</em> to be a "proper" ghost if it meant constantly trying to swallow things up and tear them to pieces inside of himself. No matter how cool it would be to just <em>talk</em> to people again. And touch things.</p><p>Movement down below grabs his attention, and he leans forward to watch as a fancy car pulls out from the garage and speeds off towards the front gates. It's pretty late in the day for any of the house's inhabitants to be going out, and if the long, flowing locks he saw trailing out of the open roof of the convertible were anything to go on, there's only one of the manor's three living residents that it could be.</p><p>He hesitates at the edge of the roof. He's trying to make a real effort about respecting giving Jason more time to himself.</p><p>Still, Dick has been <em>everywhere</em> in the manor lately, to the point that it's hard to get any kind of time with Jason when he's there. At least, not any kind of time if he wants to keep Dick in the dark about Tim's entire existence. Which he does.</p><p>Mind made up, he slips over the edge and floats down until he's in front of Jason's bedroom window. It takes a lot of effort to make his fist solid enough that it can actually connect with the glass, but he manages at least one solid rap before his hand goes soft and slips through.</p><p>Inside, Jason rolls his eyes and shoves up the window. "You could just come in, y'know. You don't have to ask every time."</p><p>Tim waits until he steps aside, then scrambles inside. "It's polite to ask. And you said you wanted to be left alone more."</p><p>"Well, sometimes, yeah. But not <em>all</em> the time."</p><p>"Dick's gone," Tim blurts out. "I was thinking. We don't get a lot of time, just the two of us, with him around? And maybe—we could hang out?"</p><p>Jason's eyebrows shoot up and a grin slowly spreads across his face. "He's gone <em>already</em>? Damn, Donna's a miracle worker. I am gonna owe her so many fruit baskets after this."</p><p>He's about to ask what Jason's talking about when there's a knock on Jason's door, announcing Alfred's presence in the hallway outside. "Master Jason, it would appear that Master Dick has been called away most unexpectedly. If you would be so kind as to gather up Master Tim, we're all ready for him in the downstairs drawing room."</p><p>"Wait, what?"</p><p>"C'mon," Jason says, forgetting just like he always does and holding out a hand towards Tim. "We can't start this without you."</p><p>It takes every ounce of control Tim has to not grab that hand, even knowing what would probably happen if he tried. "It's not anything bad, is it?"</p><p>"Only if you don't like surprises," Jason assures him, apparently remembering himself and abruptly turning to open the door with his extended hand, holding it open for Tim.</p><p>"I like surprises," Tim assures him, tentatively returning the smiles on both Jason and Alfred's faces as he follows them through the house.</p><p>"Then come on. You're sure to love this one."</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Jason knows his grin stretches from ear-to-ear as he ushers Tim into the drawing room, but he can't help it. It's clear from the look of dumbfounded surprise on the ghost's face that he didn't have a clue what all of them have been up to for the past few weeks, in between entertaining Dick's sad sob-story self.</p><p>"That's a birthday cake?" Tim says, the end of the sentence rising upwards to make it a question and no wonder—he's probably only seen them on TV before, never in person. "Is it someone's birthday?"</p><p>"Yeah," Jason says gently. "Yours."</p><p>It hadn't been that difficult to find out the date—Bruce already knew it, after all, since he was the one who saw to all of Tim's funeral arrangements. And once Jason had the date, he knew he had to do something. It wasn't like he could just forget what Tim had shared once, that his good-for-nothing parents probably didn't even remember when it was.</p><p>Tim blinks several times, his head craning all around the room. The decorations aren't ostentatious or overwhelming—some streamers, a few balloons. On the other side of the room a big banner proclaiming 'Happy Birthday!' is strung up between two curio cabinets. </p><p>"Sorry it's not more," Jason offers. "I wanted it to be a surprise, but it's really hard to keep secrets from you."</p><p>"Happy birthday, son," Bruce offers, walking over from where he's been waiting in the shadows. He can't see Tim, of course, but his eyes are trained where Jason's been looking, so it's almost like he's really talking to him.</p><p>"Indeed. Many salutations," Alfred adds.</p><p>"Oh," Tim says, sounding small and overwhelmed. When Jason glances down at his face, it looks like he's on the verge of tears.</p><p>"Hey, it's okay."</p><p>"It's just. I've never had a birthday party before? Thank you—all of you. This is the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me." He beams up at him, and Jason feels his heart twist in his chest at that smile. Really, they should probably look into the fact that Tim's smiles seem to interrupt a guy's ability to breathe one of these days, see if it's some kind of special ghost power. But some other time. Today is all about Tim.</p><p>"It was nothing," Jason mutters, rubbing the back of his neck. "We all helped. Alf made the cake, and Bruce and I found the presents. We all did the decorations."</p><p>"Hate to break it to you, but I can't actually eat cake," Tim reminds him.</p><p>"Well, no. But you can't have a birthday party without a cake."</p><p>"We thought you could at least put out the candle," Bruce offers.</p><p>As he says this, Alfred rolls the trolley forward so they can all admire his masterpiece, a no doubt perfect cake, beautifully frosted in the red, green, and yellow of Robin's colors. In the middle is a single candle in the shape of the number 14. Jason had wanted to put on fourteen regular birthday candles, but Bruce had suggested this would be easier for Tim to put out.</p><p>"It's in your colors."</p><p>"Yeah, well. Wasn't sure how else to decorate it, and you're practically an honorary Robin at this point. It was Alfred's idea," Jason says quickly, though really it was both of them that decided it together.</p><p>"I—I really like it. It's perfect."</p><p>"Good. Now, c'mon—we've gotta sing, and then you <em>have</em> to see all the cool loot we found for you!"</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>Everyone sings 'Happy Birthday' and then, through some trial and error, Tim manages to snuff out the candle.</p><p>"Make a wish," Bruce says, and Tim does. He wishes he could be as kind and good and brave as these three people who saw (or, in two out of three cases, didn't see) a lonely ghost and opened up their home to him instead of running him off. He hopes it comes true, though he isn't sure how birthday wishes work, exactly—he's never had the chance to make one before.</p><p>"Thank you," he tells Jason again, because he honestly can't thank him enough. Not just for the party, but for everything he's done, starting with speaking kindly to a scared boy he found hiding in a cupboard.</p><p>"Hey, we're not done yet. You've still got presents to unwrap!" Jason reminds him, pointing to a side table with a modest pile of brightly wrapped gifts. "Sorry it's not very much—we wanted to get things you could use, and since there's not much you <em>can</em> use, that limited it a lot."</p><p>"It's the thought that counts," Tim tells him, repeating what one of the many nameless nannies told him when his parents awarded him with a birthday present in the middle of October one year.</p><p>"We tried to do simple wrapping jobs so you could open them yourself," Bruce offers, turning over the top gift so Tim can see how it's all held in place by a single piece of tape.</p><p>It's not that different from turning the page of a book or pressing a computer key, though this is pulling instead of pushing or lifting. Still, there's a certain novelty to tugging the tape free, then carefully unfolding the paper. </p><p>"Books?" Tim struggles to mask his disappointment—Jason is always hounding him to read more, so he shouldn't be surprised.</p><p>"Between my own familiarity with rare book dealers and Master Bruce's occult connections, we were able to track down a few volumes on ghosts and related spiritual activity. I have been assured that these particular tomes are far more accurate than most on the market, and may offer you some insight into your own peculiar situation," Alfred says, looking very stiff and formal even as his eyes begin to glisten in the light streaming through the windows.</p><p>"Thank you," Tim tells him, gently touching the back of the man's hand. "It's a very thoughtful gift."</p><p>"He says thanks," Jason breezily relays. "Here, open mine next." He shoves aside the books for another package, this one looking just as heavy though significantly larger.</p><p>When Tim gets the paper out of the way, it's even more books, though these are of a different kind. "Oh wow. A whole set of <em>Warlocks &amp; Warriors</em> guides! And dice! Gee, how did you even know?"</p><p>"Well, uh. You mentioned wanting to try it out? And Bart, he knew something about it, so he gave me some help on what to pick out." Jason leans forward, looking a bit nervous. "It's good, right? I know it's not exactly perfect—rolling dice is probably a lot harder than pressing computer keys—but I thought we could try playing it together, just the two of us."</p><p>"I'd really like that. Thank you, Jason." For a moment, he considers leaning in showing his appreciation the way he really wants to, but he quickly discards the idea. Bruce and Alfred are both here, and even if they can't see, it would be too weird. Instead, he brushes his fingers over the back of Jason's hand.</p><p>"He, uh. He says thanks," Jason mutters, head snapping around to look expectantly at Bruce.</p><p>"Ah. I'm afraid my own gift is something that couldn't quite be wrapped up," Bruce admits. "I've set up the cave computer to do an age progression for you, Tim, so you can have an idea of how you should look as you get older."</p><p>"We thought you could use that to make yourself look your age. If you want to," Jason offers. "Se—er, some of the ghosts Young Justice has dealt with can change the way they look, so it shouldn't be that difficult to do? Probably?"</p><p>Tim stares at his friend—at this family that's gone above and beyond any expectation he ever had of them, even back when he was still lonely and alive, stuck on the outside and staring in. Sometimes his ghostly form behaves like it's still alive, apparently too used to that state to forget certain trappings. This is the first time he's ever cried since dying, though.</p><p>"Thank you—all of you. That's. This is. More than I could have ever hoped for," he says, rubbing at his eyes with his non-existent sleeves. "<em>Thank you</em>."</p><p>"Happy fourteenth, Tim," Jason says, his smile heartbreakingly sweet. "Here's to many more."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p><a href="http://themandylion.tumblr.com/">I have a tumblr!</a> Come visit if you want ridiculous AU headcanons, rants about the English language (and/or educational publishing), history fangirling, adorable baby bats, and veeeeery occasional fanart. Also, because I am an actual human being with opinions of my own, sometimes I post or reblog things that reflect those opinions. If you can't handle the idea of someone existing in the universe and possessing opinions which differ from your own, you probably should not click on that link.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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